As computing and networking technologies become robust, secure and reliable, more consumers, wholesalers, retailers, and information providers are employing the Internet to conduct business. For example, many wholesalers and information providers are providing web sites and/or on-line services for purchasing products and searching for information, respectively.
Typically, business over the Internet includes a user interfacing with a client application (e.g., a web page) to interact with a server that stores information in database(s) that are accessible to the client application. For example, a stock market web site can provide the user with tool(s) for retrieving stock quotes and purchasing stocks. The user can type in a stock symbol, and then request a stock quote. The client application queries database table(s) of stocks, for example, and returns a stock quote. The user can submit a request to purchase the stock through the client application. The actual stock purchase is dependent on the provider's policy, and the date and time of the request.
In general, the server can be associated with one or more databases and can comprise a complex and large volume of data and executable code. The typical business (wholesaler, retailer, etc.) offering the service is not staffed with employees with the technical background and experience to construct the databases, write the executable code and/or build the client application. Generally, the business out-sources the effort to a third party vendor, for example, for a fee. The vendor can then employ various programming philosophies to develop and efficiently provide the business with a reliable and cost effective system.